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A crack of thunder shattered the quiet, sending small animals skittering into the brush not far from where they stood. Molly yelped and hunkered down low to the ground.Uh-oh.Mollyhatedthunder.
“Stay calm, girl. It’s okay,” August said in her most soothing voice, but the husky was growing quickly agitated. Her voice reached a high-pitched whine, followed by a sharp bark.
Make it stop! I hate the sky noises.
Another grumble of thunder rippled through the sky, and August tried to lead Molly in what she hoped was the right direction, but the dog refused to budge. Her ears were flattened right back against her head and her eyes darted around. No amount of tugging on the leash would move her.
“Come on, girl. Don’t do this now. Please.” August tugged but the husky was planted low to the ground, trembling. “Shit.”
She might have to carry Molly. It wouldn’t be an easy feat, since the dog weighed close to forty-five pounds, but it might be the only option. August crouched low and attempted to scoop Molly up, but the dog snapped at her and skittered backward suddenly, causing August to lurch forward and lose her balance. She fell, her hands hitting the dirt and sending shocks up her arms from the impact.
Molly yanked on the leash and it slipped right out of August’s hand. “No, Molly!”
She scrambled to her feet and made a lunge for the leash, missing it only by a fraction of an inch. At that exact moment, a giant flash of lightning lit up the sky and then the clouds opened up. Rain poured down, hard and fast, obscuring her sight momentarily.
August stepped forward, bracing herself against the weather, just in time to see where Molly had run.
“Stop right now!” She jogged after the dog, her sneakers sliding on slick stones. “Don’t panic. Panic is a pointless emotion that will not solve anything. You are a calm blue ocean. A cool cucumber. An unruffled feather. An...unwrinkled chocolate bar wrapper.”
Was that even a thing?
Unfortunately, the pep talk did little to tame the drumming of her heart as she followed Molly deeper into the trees.
The rain beat down, drumming against the top of her head and soaking her hair and clothing through. She had to find Molly andthenshe had to figure out how the heck they’d get back to the campground in one piece.
One problem at a time.
“Molly! Come here, girl!”
She stumbled past another cluster of trees and realized they were going in a different direction than before. Was it the right one? She had no idea. Grabbing onto a low tree branch, she moved carefully past a clump of raised roots. The ground was becoming muddy, fast. Gingerly, she stepped into what looked like a small clearing.
But August’s heartbeat halted when she realized they were standing at a lookout. There was a drop over the edge and what looked to be scrapes or marks in the muddy ground.
“Oh my God...”
As carefully as she could, August approached the edge and peered over. Molly! The dog was on a ledge about two feet below. Thankfully it wasn’t a sheer drop. But itwas, however, an awkward angle, and August didn’t have much to grab onto.
The dog looked up, holding one paw in the air as if wanting to shake. At first August thought she might have injured her paw, but on closer inspection it appeared she’d gotten some tree sap on herself. The sticky amber goo had made her fur all stuck together in clumps.
On the long list of things Molly hated was anything sticky.
“Hang on, girl. I’m coming.”
August got down on the ground, anchoring herself by grabbing a sturdy tree root. There was no way she could try to climb down there to get to Molly, because one wrong move and she’d slide over. Mud squelched against August’s stomach as she wriggled to the edge, keeping hold of the tree root. Maybe if she could grab Molly’s leash, she could try to guide her back up the incline.
But as she tried to reach down, she realized that her arms weren’t long enough. Her hands dangled uselessly above the dog’s head, fingers waving.
“Come here, girl. Get a little closer and I’ll help you up.”
Molly looked at her paw indignantly, and then up at August as if to say,Get this gross shit off me right now!
“Oh, Molly,” August groaned. “Can you not be a drama queen for, like,onesecond? It’s just sap!”
The dog didn’t budge.
Looking back over her shoulder, August wondered if she should try to go back for help. But she had no idea which way to go, and what if the rain came harder and Molly slipped off the edge of the ledge she’d landed on.
You can’t leave her.
